Virtually since the advent of motorized fire and police departments, personnel within those departments have experienced difficulty in identifying the particular site requiring an emergency response. The relatively recent advent of community ambulance services has given rise to the same type of problem with respect to their personnel. If such personnel are unable to quickly locate the site of the emergency, at least valuable time is lost and, very likely, property and persons may be endangered.
The problem of site identification may be compounded by the fact that in smaller communities, fire departments and ambulance services are often staffed by volunteers. Unlike police officers, who are usually full time employees, these volunteers do not have daily opportunity to learn street names and address numbering systems in detail.
Another fact which compounds the problem of proper site identification and more rapid response is that over decades of growth, many communities have adopted unusual or inconsistent address numbering systems. This may be especially true in residential areas at the common boundaries of adjacent communities. Often such communities use street names and/or street numbering systems which differ at such boundaries. As a result, rapid location of an address by emergency personnel may be made much more difficult. Unless one is intimately familiar with the details of such a system is a quick and accurate response possible.
Still another complicating factor which can affect emergency response time arises because communities situated in hilly terrain often have many winding streets. Especially in rural areas, map coordinates rather than sequential address numbers may be used to identify specific residences. Winding streets and often-confusing map coordinate addresses, alone or in combination, can function to frustrate and delay the responsive efforts of emergency personnel.
In any of the foregoing situations, the difficulty of properly and quickly responding to a particular site is further hampered by darkness, especially if accompanied by inclement weather. While these represent some of the situations in which some type of signalling mechanism would be useful to identify a particular building or address, there are several other types of such situations.
For example, elderly and/or handicapped persons may occasionally need to quickly and simply summon aid. A signalling mechanism which is quickly and easily operable and which provides an outdoor signal which is readily-observable to neighbors would be of great benefit to such persons. This would be especially true where a neighborhood understanding existed as to the meaning of such a signal.
Another example of a situation where a signalling mechanism would be highly desirable involves smaller children who return home from school but whose parents are absent from the home. These so-called "latch key" children, especially very small children, could obviously benefit from a signalling mechanism which would permit neighborhood aid to be quickly and easily summoned.
Persons who participate in neighborhood watch programs would also benefit from such a mechanism. For example, if an intruder is detected on the property of a participant, the flashing illumination of an outdoor light conveys a sense of urgency. Additionally, there may be an understanding among the participants that if such a light is observed by them, they will likewise use such a mechanism. The deterrent effect of multiple outdoor flashing lights may well be significant.
To meet a less urgent need, such a mechanism could also be used to identify a house for an arriving guest who may not be familiar with the area.
Examples of signalling and annunciator mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,107,348; 3,246,310; 3,585,629; 3,651,512 and 3,999,176. However, these prior devices have failed to appreciate the need for a signalling mechanism which is especially adapted for residential use and which is configured to illuminate a light, either conventionally or intermittently in a signalling mode.
A signalling mechanism which includes a switch position for intermittently illuminating a light, a porch lamp, for example, and which incorporates a device for indicating when the switch is in the signalling position would be a distinct advance in the art.